1.1 Related Filings
This application is related to Document Disclosure 409711 filed on Dec. 20, 1996.
1.2 Technical Field
This invention pertains to a specialized binding for snowboards and similar sports equipment which allows for flexibility in toe-to-heel movement as a rider maneuvers the board.
1.3 Background Art
In a number of relatively new sports, both of the participant's feet are affixed to the same gliding board. While this configuration includes a number of different boards, including snowboards, monoskis, and wakeboards, the term "snowboard" will be used throughout this specification, it being understood that the invention claimed herein may apply to any such gliding board.
The snowboard rider wears boots that fit into manually releasable bindings which are attached to the top surface of the snowboard, analogous to bindings on alpine skis. Generally, the snowboard bindings are aligned at approximately right angles to the longitudinal axis of the board, with one foot nearer to the front of the board, and the other foot nearer to the tail of the board.
As snowboarding has become a popular alpine sport, a variety of different binding designs have been developed. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,143,396 to Shaanan et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,172,924 to Barci, U.S. Pat. No. 5,480,176 to Sims, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,409,244 to Young each describe specialized bindings for snowboards. While the boot mounts directly on the snowboard in Sims and Young, many snowboard binding designs include a separate footplate mounted between the snowboard and the boot. U.S. Pat. No. 5,520,406 to Anderson et al. specially designs the footplate to avoid cavities that can accumulate ice and snow.
Innovative snowboard bindings have been designed to accommodate special problems associated with snowboarding. For example, because both feet are mounted on one board, when the rider looses his balance to such an extent that one boot disengages from the board, extreme stress results to the leg which remains bound to the board, possibly causing serious injury to bones or ligaments. To remedy this concern, a variety of binding designs have been created, each providing for the second boot to be automatically released when a first boot disengages. U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,054,807 to Fauvet, 5,564,719 to Kissel, and 5,085,455 to Bogner et al. are each examples of such designs.
Another known problem for snowboarders is the need to disengage one boot and use that foot to push the snowboard in an uphill setting, such as to get to and from a ski lift. To accommodate this need, snowboard bindings have been developed that allow for ease of entering into and disengaging one boot binding, such as U.S. Pat. No. 5,558,355 to Henry. U.S. Pat. No. 5,499,837 to Hale et al. further alleviates problems associated with pushing the snowboard with only one boot attached to the board by permitting easy rotation of the binding so that the boot remaining in the snowboard can be faced toward the front of the snowboard. Another novel approach to this issue is taught in U.S. Pat. No. 5,090,722 to Ritchie et al., providing for a temporary foot-gripping device between the two boot bindings.
While snowboard bindings are typically aligned at an angle to the longitudinal axis to the board, many of such bindings are in a fixed position. Thus, once such bindings have been attached to the board, the user has no method of adjusting the alignment even if a different orientation would be better suited to this user's style of maneuvering the board. To provide for more flexibility in aligning bindings, a number of specialized bindings have been developed, which allow for movement of the bindings to different orientations with respect to the longitudinal axis of the board, and then provide for locking the binding in its new position. Examples of such bindings are found in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,028,068 to Donovan and 5,236,216 to Ratzek. Similarly, a binding advertised on the internet at http://www.murrays.com/snow/excel.sub.-- snow/excel.html, known as "Excel Rotational Bindings", permits the user to adjust the back of the binding to a chosen angle, and to fasten the binding at that chosen angle.
As snowboarders increase in sophistication and skill, they frequently seek more flexibility in their board and bindings, to permit different types of turns and maneuvers. A binding with a double hinge mechanism is advertised on the internet at http://www.et.byu.edu/.about.mansure/skatestyle/work.html, which allows the rider to rotate his foot from side to side while riding the board. Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 5,044,656 to Peyre describes a snowboard with a boardplate secured to the top of the snowboard, and a boot plate, connectable to the boot, with resilient tensioning devices connecting the two plates, to allow for movement in three directions within certain limits. An internet advertisement at http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/bomber1/badsyste.htm describes a binding with elastomer bumpers between a footplate and the snowboard to cushion the rider and reduce vibrations.
While each of these bindings is useful for its intended purpose, none is suitable for providing flexibility in toe-to-heel movement as a rider maneuvers the board, while providing the rider with the ability to lock the boot and footplate in a fixed position when riding conditions make a rigid configuration preferable.